Gaia mission discovers closest-ever black holes to Earth.
Using data from ESA's Gaia mission, astronomers have discovered two black holes, Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2, located respectively just 1,560 light-years away from us in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus and 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. These black holes are unique because they are much further away from their companion stars and do not emit any light, making them practically invisible. The discovery suggests that many more similar black holes in wide binaries are still waiting to be discovered, and Gaia's next data release in 2025 is expected to contain many more of these stars with mystery black hole companions.